Christian Eriksen paid little mind to the traumatic events of three years ago, as he opened Denmark s account at Euro 2024.
June 12 marked the third anniversary of Eriksen collapsing on the pitch in Denmark s opening match of Euro 2020, with the midfielder having suffered a cardiac arrest.
Thanks to the heroic work of the medical staff in Copenhagen that day, Eriksen survived, and ultimately returned to professional football within seven months, as he signed for Brentford.
And rather fittingly, the 32-year-old scored Denmark s opener against Slovenia in Stuttgart on Sunday, netting his first goal at the Euros in the process.
32y123d Christian Eriksen (32 years and 123 days) is the third-oldest player to ever score for Denmark at a major tournament, and the oldest to do so at the EUROs. Heart.
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan)
Eriksen became his nation s oldest player to score at a major tournament, albeit Denmark could not hold on, as they were pegged back to a 1-1 draw by Erik Janza s deflected strike.
Asked if the events of 2021 were on his mind when he prodded home against Slovenia, Eriksen said: I was very pleased.
I did have in mind that I hadn t scored at a Euros, so obviously that was on my mind but nothing else but football was on my mind.
This time at the Euros, my story is very different to last time. Luckily there s been a lot of games since it happened. I felt confident going into this game and I was just happy to be playing.
Eriksen was hugely influential for Denmark against Slovenia, creating seven chances and attempting 14 crosses.
Next up for the Danes is a clash with England on Thursday.
